Gardening tips with Gerry Daly: Red and blue

The little blue or reddish flowers of the lungwort are a real delight and look great growing with some clumps of snowdrops and crocuses, with the lungwort in the background. A few snowdrops and early stems of blue and red lungwort picked and placed in a little glass of water make a lovely spring display for a few days.

The reason that lungwort starts growing so early is due to its natural habitat in mountainous areas of southern and central Europe, where it grows in alpine meadows and woodlands – places with a short growing season before the tree canopy closes over and the shade is too heavy.

Lungwort has long been popular in cottage-style gardens because it is easy to grow from bits taken from existing plants, treasured for the early flowers it produces.

These are pushed out early, after any bit of a mild spell, at the end of short shoots and before the leaves expand much.

Later the leaves catch up, the stems extend and the tips carry clusters of nodding flowers. While this show is valuable, the few early stems really catch the eye.

Name origins

Occasionally known as soldiers-and-sailors, the botanical name of pulmonaria is now the more common name used. The name lungwort is a reference to its use in herbal medicine for ailments of the lungs. The Medieval Doctrine of Signatures held that if a plant resembled a part of the human body, it would be good for curing ailments of that part.

The lungwort was used for treating lung ailments, especially bronchitis.

The botanical name, pulmonaria, also reflects the link with the lungs, pulmo being the Latin for lung.

Pulmonaria is a very good, low-growing, ground cover plant for the front of beds or borders and between shrubs.

Its dense, silver-spotted leaves make a solid cover against weeds. It will tolerate a fair degree of shade, being a woodland plant.

It likes fairly moist soil, as it gets mildewed if it is grown in dry soil, although this does not stop it growing.

Added to its early flowering, these characteristics make it a very useful plant.

Mawson’s Blue has dark-blue flowers. Sissinghurst White has white flowers and white, lightly spotted leaves. Blue Ensign is a relatively new, deep-blue only variety

It is especially good in a rural garden as the appearance of the plant is still very natural and not over-bred by plant breeders. The colours of the flowers are pretty but not garish.

There are quite a few species and selections of pulmonaria, mostly chosen for their flower size or good-quality colours.

Bowle’s Red, for instance, is a red-flowered form with white markings on the leaves. Argentea has grey leaves.

Mawson’s Blue has dark-blue flowers. Sissinghurst White has white flowers and white, lightly spotted leaves. Blue Ensign is a relatively new, deep-blue only variety.

The flowers are large and long-lasting and the large leaves are unspotted. Flowering of pulmonaria continues for many weeks from early spring. After flowering, the flower stems wither back and the leaves extend to the fullest extent. This is when the plant’s weed control defences are most effective at shading out weed seedlings.

Usually the places where it has been planted with spring bulbs and other spring plants tend to fill with shade.

The attention moves away to seasonal plants and the lungwort can build its reserves for the following year.

If there is a need to raise more plants, the lungwort grows easily from seeds sown when ripe and new kinds might arise, or the plants can be easily split up either just after flowering or in the autumn period.

The flavour of freshly picked garlic is exceptionally good. It is sweeter, perhaps stronger too, but much better flavoured. Even home-stored garlic seems to have better flavour. The bulbs break down into cloves and the cloves are planted about 10-15cm apart in rows about 25-30cm apart. It can be grow in a twin row or as several close-set rows in a broad bed.

Choose a sunny, well-drained spot and cultivate to loosen the ground adding some very well-rotted organic material, if possible. Plant the garlic by pressing the cloves into the soil to a depth of about 5cm. Keep free of weeds and water during a dry spell of more than a few days. It is ready to pick in July or August, but the green leaves and bulbs can be used before that.

Trees, shrubs and roses

After a very cold spell take any opportunity to resume planting bareroot hedging, shelter and woodland trees. Rose bushes can be planted at any time. Bush roses are already showing good growth and they, along with repeat-flowering climbers, should be pruned right away, if not already done. Control weeds around them.

Flowers

Lifting and dividing of herbaceous flowers can resume if the soil has drained. This is the best time to move perennial flowers in gardens on heavy soil. Take the old leaves off hellebores if there is much black spotting. Seeds of geraniums, lobelia, busy lizzie and bedding begonias can be sown in a propagator.

Fruit, vegetables and herbs

Finish off pruning of apple and pear trees, and currant and gooseberry bushes should be completed as soon as possible. Fruit trees and bushes should be planted within the next few weeks to gain the most benefit of the season. Sow seeds of early varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce and onions in a tunnel.

Lawn

The rapid growth of grass that took place in mid-winter was stopped in its tracks by the sharp spell in recent weeks, but it is still worthwhile to mow the grass at the first available opportunity and to repeat it after a few weeks. This will leave the lawn area looking neat and tidy before growth starts soon.

Greenhouse and house plants

With new crops to be planted out soon, prepare the greenhouse soil by digging in plenty of well-rotted compost or manure. Greenhouse peach trees should have the first flowers gently pollinated by vigorously tapping on the support wires on a dry sunny day. Begonia and gloxinia tubers can be started indoors.